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OpenAI's Claimed Refutation of the Exponential Time Hypothesis: From Prank Rumor to Paper
What began as a suspected prank rumor about models refuting the Exponential Time Hypothesis escalated after OpenAI published a paper claiming exactly that, spurring derived subexponential algorithms.
2026-10-27 ~ 2026-10-29 · 3 episodes · 9 posts
Episode 1 · Viral Claims That Claude and GPT-Next Refuted the Exponential Time Hypothesis Appear to Be a Hoax (2026-10-27, 4 posts)
Posts circulating on Reddit and elsewhere claim Claude and GPT-Next simultaneously produced 2^o(n)-time algorithms for 3-SAT, refuting the Exponential Time Hypothesis, but the claims appear to stem from a spoofed paper cover. A separate Hexagon-hosted, "mostly AI-generated" paper claims an internal Anthropic model autonomously discovered such an algorithm using 14 million output tokens without human input.
- Anthropic's Claude finds 2^o(n) 3-SAT algorithm, refuting the Exponential Time Hypothesis — rickasaurus · 2026-10-27
- OpenAI and Claude Both Claim 2^o(n) 3-SAT Algorithms, Refuting ETH — pdkj · 2026-10-27
- Claim: Claude and GPT-Next Both Disproved the Exponential Time Hypothesis — daniel_mac8 · 2026-10-29
- A fake Claude-authored paper "disproving" the Exponential Time Hypothesis becomes AI-lore — daniel_mac8 · 2026-10-29
Episode 2 · Subexponential Hamiltonian Cycle Algorithm Built on ETH Refutation (2026-10-28, 3 posts)
Building on OpenAI and Anthropic's recent refutation of the Exponential Time Hypothesis, a researcher derived and Lean-verified a deterministic subexponential algorithm for exactly counting Hamiltonian cycles in O(n)-edge graphs.
- Hamiltonian cycles become subexponentially countable, assuming the new ETH refutations hold — xennygrimmato_ · 2026-10-28
- Subexponential Hamiltonian cycle counting derived from OpenAI/Anthropic ETH refutations, verified in Lean — xennygrimmato_ · 2026-10-28
- Claimed ETH refutations yield first sub-exponential algorithm counting Hamiltonian cycles — xennygrimmato_ · 2026-10-28
Episode 3 · OpenAI Paper Claims the Exponential Time Hypothesis Is False (2026-10-28, 2 posts)
OpenAI's preprint titled "The Exponential Time Hypothesis Is False" claims a subexponential deterministic algorithm for 3-SAT, drawing viral attention and skeptical amusement from the community.
- OpenAI preprint claims the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false — "and so it begins" — Reza_Zadeh · 2026-10-28
- OpenAI paper claims to refute Exponential Time Hypothesis with subexponential 3-SAT algorithm — burny_tech · 2026-10-29